


A New Home

by flaggermousse



Series: Picking up the Pieces [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, POV Minerva McGonagall, Raising Harry Potter, Sirius Black got a Trial, or at least the beginning of it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:19:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22440163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flaggermousse/pseuds/flaggermousse
Summary: Sirius, McGonagall and Dumbledore show up at 4 Privet Drive to pick up Harry, after Sirius was declared innocent and was granted custody of his godson.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin (implied)
Series: Picking up the Pieces [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1972801
Comments: 52
Kudos: 526





	A New Home

The last week of August had brought blue sky and sunshine to Little Whinging. A tabby cat walked up the street marked Privet Drive, stopping when it saw the large black dog walking back and forth between the orderly gardens. Spotting the cat, the dog stopped pacing, and when the cat continued up the street, the dog followed. The two animals passed under the shadows from one of the perfectly trimmed hedges, and two humans appeared on the other side.

“Good day, Mr. Black.”

Minerva McGonagall checked her clock; it was quarter to 12. Mrs. Dursley had specified 12 o’clock, likely because most of the neighbors would be at work or school by then, lessening the chance of them seeing anything they shouldn’t. But the way Sirius Black, both as dog and human, seemed unable to stay in one spot suggested that he had been there for quite some time already.

“Morning, professor.” As soon as he had human hands, Black started fiddling with the zipper on his leather jacket. “Difficult waiting around, might as well do it here. None of the muggles pay any attention to a dog.”

“Mr. Lupin is not here with you?”

“No. We figured I’d go alone, just in case someone from the Ministry or anyone else shows up here.” Black sighed, and shoved his hands in his pockets, presumably to keep them still. “If the court knew that the new home I intend to give Harry includes someone with Remus’ ... _condition_ , they might have ruled it safer for the kid to stay with the muggles.”

Half a year ago, the Ministry would also have ruled against Black giving Harry a home. In November he had been arrested for thirteen counts of murder, being an accomplice to two more, as well as spying and feeding information to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, information that had most likely aided him and his followers in killing even more people.

He had been sent straight to Azkaban without a trial, a common occurrence in the last years of the war. However, once the retrials and further investigations began to happen, it turned out that not all was as it seemed. Black’s story had seemed unbelievable at first, when he claimed that his friend Peter Pettigrew was the one really responsible. But a wand that never cast any spells capable of killing a dozen people, the lack of a Dark Mark, and new and experimental use of a Pensieve at the trial had at last convinced Wizengamot and most of the Wizarding world of his innocence. Black _was_ found guilty of being an unregistered, illegal Animagus, but since he had served half a year already by that point the Wizengamot had declared him innocent and free to go by the end of May.

Two weeks later, he was back at the Ministry, determined to gain custody of his godson. James and Lily Potter’s wills explicitly stated that should anything happen to them, Sirius Black was going to be the guardian of young Harry Potter. That had been impossible in November, when Black appeared to be a murderer and a Death Eater, so Albus had Harry placed with his last living blood relative. Minerva had been there herself that night.

And now she was back at this same street again. The year before she’d spent a day observing the Dursley-family, and had not been exactly thrilled to leave Harry with those muggles. She wanted to be here now, when they could finally take him away from this place.

The sound of footsteps informed her of a new arrival to Privet Drive, and they turned to see Albus Dumbledore walking towards them. Part of a broken tennis racket poked up from one of his pockets. They walked out of the shadows to meet him.

“Good to see you, Albus.”

“Minerva, Sirius.”

“Hello, Dumbledore. It’s just ten to twelve; we should get on with it.”

“You are still sure about this, Sirius?”

“I was sure the first time you asked, and it hasn't changed.” Black seemed to struggle to keep the annoyance out of his voice. Minerva knew there had been several arguments; Albus was of the opinion that the safest place for Harry was with his blood relations.

“The bond of blood charm forged by Lily's sacrifice is the most powerful protection spell there is. Voldemort may be gone-” Black shook a bit at the mention of the name. Minerva suddenly felt colder. No one had heard or seen anything of You-Know-Who since last Halloween, but old habits died hard. “- but there are still those out there what would want to harm Harry.”

What had happened to the Longbottom-family was still fresh in everyone’s memory. The beginning of the year had seemed like a fresh start, everyone was starting to feel safe again after twelve years of War. Then a new tragedy had struck, reminding them of the danger that still were among them.

Black broke the heavy silence. “We've secured Harry's new home with almost every protection spell I know, and some I don't know. And when several of them were cast by the most powerful living wizard in the country,” he nodded towards Albus, “It ought to be safe. Maybe it's not as perfect as the blood protection. But Lily's sister, she – she-“

He seemed to struggle finding the right words, possibly because the words he _wanted_ to use didn’t seem appropriate in polite company. Minerva spoke up: “She’ll never understand Harry.” They both turned towards her, and she continued: “I observed it the first time we came here and I voiced my objections back then, Albus; this isn’t a good home for the boy. The people the Ministry sent to observe when they were going through the child custody case said they feed and clothe him and little else. Harry should not have to grow up in such a place when there are people who love him and _want_ to give him a home.”

Black gave her a grateful smile. Albus smiled too, he seemed to know the argument had already been lost.

“Shall we, then?”

They walked up to 4 Privet Drive, and rang the doorbell. Petunia Dursley appeared at the door to find the three of them standing on her front steps. Her gaze wandered from Minerva’s hat to Sirius’s leather jacket to the broken racket in Albus pocket, before snapping: “So. There you are.”

Black frowned a little, but Albus smiled despite the rude tone. “In our latest correspondence, you wrote 12 o’clock today would be most suitable, Petunia.”

“Let’s get this over with then.” She seemed unsure whether to leave them at the door steps where anyone could see the kind of guests she had, or actually invite them into her home. The worry of what the neighbors might think seemed to win out, so she waved them in before hurrying down the hallway and into the kitchen. Moments later, she reappeared with a dark-haired toddler in her arms. Black stepped past Albus and Minerva. The young man seemed slightly nervous when he addressed the child.

“Harry?”

Harry stared at him, and hesitant recognition grew in the green eyes. “… Pafo?”

The tension seemed to melt out of Black; perhaps he had been worried the child would not recognize him after nearly a year.

“Yeah, it is uncle Padfoot, Harry.”

Harry’s face split into a wide smile, and he stretched his hands towards him, leaning so far out of Mrs. Dursley’s arms she had to shift her grip on him. “Pafo! Unca’ Pafo!”

Black’s eyes were blank as he returned the smile. He stepped forward to take the child. When she passed him over, Mrs. Dursley seemed to hesitate for a second. Then Harry was over in his Godfather’s arms, babbling and pulling on his hair. Mrs. Dursley stood awkwardly by them, her lips pressed together in a thin line.

“Where are his things?” Minerva asked.

Mrs. Dursley tore her gaze away from her nephew, and turned to open the closet underneath the stairs. Since Black had his arms full, she handed the plastic bag to Minerva. Opening it, she could see that it contained a few clothes that seemed like hand-me-downs. Not a single toy or stuffed animal. Black looked from the bag to Mrs. Dursley.

“Is that _it?_ He’s been here almost a _year_ -” There was a low, dog-like growl in his voice. Albus stepped between them.

“Petunia, thank you for opening your home to Harry this past year.”

He smiled, but there was a hint of ice in his voice. From the kitchen, they could suddenly hear the loud cries of Harry’s cousin. Black took a deep breath, but there was still some anger under the kind cheerful tone when he addressed the child in his arms.

“Say goodbye to your aunt, Harry.”

Harry seemed slightly confused, but waved his hand towards Mrs. Dursley. “Bye, Tuna!”

Mrs. Dursley took a step forward. For a moment, it seemed like she wanted to take him back from Black’s arms. He was her nephew after all, the last link to her now dead sister. Perhaps there was a part of her that didn’t want to let him go. Then her eyes turned hard, and she pointed at the door. “Just leave before someone sees you.”

Once they were all out, Mrs. Dursley shut the door with more force than necessary. Weighing the plastic bag in her hands, Minerva felt surer than ever that this had been the right choice. As they walked down the street, Harry kept up a lively conversation that Black only seemed to understand half of.

“We’re going home, kiddo.”

“Mama?”

Black froze. He looked from his companions that had stopped next to him, to the child that stared back at him with hopeful eyes. He struggled to get the words out.

“She – I’m _sorry_ , Harry, she’s …”

“Da?”

Black didn’t manage to answer. He blinked, several times, and then just hugged Harry tightly. Minerva could feel some wetness in her own eyes. Harry had only been one year old when it happened. A child that young could not understand death. All he could understand was that suddenly he lived somewhere else, and none of the people he knew were there anymore. If ‘Uncle Padfoot’ could suddenly reappear in his life, surely his mother and father could do the same?

“Sorry, Harry. It’s – it’s just me and uncle Moony right now. ”

“Mooie?”

“Yeah. Let’s go see him, hm?”

“Excellent idea, Sirius. According to my watch, it’s nearly time for the portkey to activate.” Albus closed his pocket watch and held out the broken racket. They all touched it, Black holding onto Harry tightly. They stood there a little while, waiting. Then, as if they were fish on a hook, they were pulled away from Little Whinging.

\---

When they appeared again, open green fields greeted them. The moment their feet hit the ground, Harry threw up on Black’s jacket. That was to be expected. It was uncomfortable traveling by portkey, and as far as Minerva knew, the poor child had never experienced this particular sensation. Still, if they had used brooms, motorbikes and other, slower forms for transport, it could have been easier to follow them. Black cleaned himself and Harry with a flick of his wand, and tried calming the crying toddler as they walked down a pathway towards the nearby houses.

Harry’s new home was in a tiny Muggle Village in Wales. Even though the Ministry was rounding up all of You-Know-Who’s supporters, there were still several of his followers, among them Peter Pettigrew, that had yet to be found. Many of them would love to get their hands on the boy responsible for their Master’s fall. There were less chance of enemies finding him if his new family were hiding away in the Muggle World.

Until a few weeks ago, the only home belonging to a magical family in this part of the county had been that of Mr. Lyall Lupin and his wife. Now there was another. Following an old stone fence, they closed in on a little cottage. It didn’t seem different from the many others they had passed, but eyes familiar with magic could spot a weak shimmering in the air around it. Tell-tale signs of protective charms.

They stopped when they came to the end of the stone fence. Several runes had been buried around the house the past week, creating a circle of protection. Black turned to the child in his arms.

“Harry, welcome to your new home.”

He hesitated a bit before stepping over the ground where the hidden circle went, but nothing happened. One of the many spells cast made sure people needed to be invited in before they could manage to come close to the house. Harry was now one of the few welcome. The curtains in one of the windows moved slightly, and it did not take long before the door swung open, and Remus Lupin hurried towards them. Black smiled.

“Look, Harry, do you see who that is?”

Harry had been whining all the way down the pathway, but the appearance of a new familiar face finally seemed to distract him. This time there was no hesitation, he reached out for Lupin, and Black passed him over. For a moment, neither of the young men had eyes for anything but the child, until Lupin seemed to remember that they had other guests.

“Professor Dumbledore, professor McGonagall. Would you like to stay for tea?”

They followed Lupin and Harry through the living room. From several framed photos, James and Lily Potter were waving. Harry noticed, and tried to reach for them. Lupin stopped in front of a wedding photo that was scorched in the corners.

“Yes, Harry, that’s mommy and daddy.” His voice was full of still-fresh grief. Black gave Lupin a quick hug before he continued to the kitchen and started making tea.

The plastic bag with hand-me downs was left in the hall. The two young men had tried to get everything ready for a child, and that included getting the clothes and toys that the Dursleys had neglected to buy. In the bookshelf Minerva spotted several books with titles like “First Time Parenting”, “The Not-So-Terrible Two’s” and “Magical childhood: A guide to the Early Years of Young Wizards and Witches”. A mishmash of Wizarding and Muggle advice.

They drank tea and enjoyed the cookies Lupin’s mother had made as a housewarming gift. Harry had gotten a stuffed hippogriff to keep him company in the high chair. At first, he had seemed slightly hesitant to take any cookies, but it didn’t take long before he was happily eating, feeding his new stuffed friend one cookie for each one he took himself. The grown-ups conversation soon shifted to counting up all the protection charms.

“The Anti-Apparition Charm should prevent any unwelcome quests, and our fireplace is not linked to the Floo-network. The runes stops any uninvited people, there’s the shield protection against any dark magic -”

They should have had some protection against dark creatures as well as magic. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had had several different sorts under his command. But Lupin had collapsed when they tried the the first enchantment of that sort, and they hadn’t been able work out a way to exclude werewolves alone from the spells. So they had lifted it. Hopefully, everything else would be enough.

“- and with the exception of my parents, the only people that know where we live are all present. No one should be able to find Harry.”

“The Fidelius Charm would make that absolutely certain.”

Black tensed for a moment. “Yes. We haven’t worked out who…”

His voice trailed off. The last time the charm had been used to protect Harry and his family, it had backfired horribly. The spell had worked, but they had placed their trust in the wrong person. They changed to a lighter topic as they finished their tea, until Harry started drowsing off in his high chair. Lupin picked him up.

“Looks like someone needs a nap.”

“We better get back to Hogwarts. Still enough to do before the school year starts.” Albus rose from his chair, and Minerva followed. “It’s best to decide on Secret Keeper quickly. I am available if you find that suitable.”

“We’ll see. Thank you for everything.”

“And Remus, the Shack is always available to you if you need it.”

Lupin nodded. “… The basement in my parent’s house was reworked years ago for the same purpose. It should be alright, but … thanks for the offer.”

He bid them good bye, and turned and walked up the stairs to put Harry to bed. Black’s eyes followed them until they were gone, then he turned back to Minerva and Albus.

“It shouldn’t be an issue. Lyall and Hope will look after Harry here those nights, so I’ll be with Remus in their basement. The wolf is always calmer with company.”

Minerva smiled a little. She had been disappointed when she had learned Black and his friends had broken the law by becoming Animagi in secret. But she had to admit she had been impressed as well; they had mastered such difficult magic when they were only fifteen. Just to help their friend. Such a tightknit group they had been. Yet now it was torn apart, like so much else had been the past twelve years.

All they could do was pick up the pieces.

They said goodbye to Black and started walking up the pathway. Stopping at the hill they had arrived on, Minerva wasn't sure if she could pick out which of the small cottages now housed the famous Harry Potter. But of one thing she was certain.

“This was the right choice.”

Albus smiled. “I hope you’re right, Minerva.”

Spinning around, they left the little village behind, heading for Hogwarts.

**Author's Note:**

> I can never get enough of AUs where Sirius and Remus raise Harry, so I made this little scene. 
> 
> According to info released, both Lyall and Hope Lupin were dead by 1981. But this was never stated in the books, and my attitude for anything outside of the book-canon is simple: I only accept it if I like it. And this is an AU anyway, so who cares.
> 
> [Art](https://flaggermousseart.tumblr.com/post/190677229006) to go with the scene.


End file.
